• PAGE ONE
• INDEX
• HOME

`Open source code will drive standards'

Rukmini Priyadarshini

BANGALORE, Dec. 8

SELF-HEALING, more humane, more freedom...no, we are not talking pop philosophy -- this is a techie believer's description of computing utility -- with infrastructure, appliances and e-services as its components.

And Hewlett Packard's Mr Xuan Bui, manager of the core HP-UX operation, is a believer. In the applicability of Unix systems to emerging Web requirements, the need for open source code and in the commodification of operating systems.

``Ultimately, it is about always-on infrastructure, e-services and utility through appliances,'' Mr Xuan says.

According to him, Web-based businesses want operating environments that support their applications. So also, click and mortar businesses that are trying to adapt their operations to the Web.

``Most enterprises and datacentres use a mix of operating environments,'' Mr Xuan says, adding that service providers, small dotcoms and entrepreneurs all prefer the open-source model of Linux systems. ``That is why HP focuses on establishing interoperab ility between its Unix systems and Linux.''

He agrees that open source code will change the way software is developed, distributed and used. The reliability, freedom and low costs offered by Linux will have to reckoned with by the industry. ``At HP, we embrace Unix, Linux, NT, etc.''

According to Mr Xuan, HP's Unix initiative is on a par with -- or even outclasses -- its competitors (Sun's Polaris and IBM's AIX systems).

He says that HP's Web security functions are superior to those of its rivals because ``it not only offers basic Web security but also intrusion detection functions''.

He adds: ``We are ahead in terms of reliability, scalability, and platform interoperability and on a par in terms of Web application support.''

The operating system is like a commodity, he says. In that environment, companies will have to change their business plan to fit in as a component of the value chain.

``The value chain or the operating system belongs to nobody.'' Open source code means everybody can use it and nobody owns it. That will drive the set of standards, Mr Xuan says.